English 
Spanish 
Capital Good Fund and AILA Partnership Brings Financial Support to Immigrant Communities
Nonprofit CDFI becomes AILA “Preferred Immigration Loan Partner” for funding of immigration legal services
Providence, Rhode Island – Millions of families seeking to improve their immigration status face a barrier to economic mobility: the need to come up with as much as $20,000 to pay for necessary legal and filing costs. Capital Good Fund and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) have launched a national program to give AILA members the benefit of offering an affordable financing option to their clients who otherwise would be unable to pay for these services. The program just started in New Jersey and Connecticut and is also available in Florida, Texas, Colorado, Illinois, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Delaware with plans to expand to additional states throughout the year. Capital Good Fund is a nonprofit CDFI lender that provides equitable loans to lower-income families for a variety of key needs, on top of immigration expenses, such as making energy upgrades to their homes (e.g., solar panels and high-efficiency appliances); COVID-19 related costs; making security deposits, and more.
“Immigrants shouldn’t have to choose between putting food on the table and pursuing their American Dream,” says Andy Posner, Capital Good Fund founder and CEO. “So many families are eligible to improve their immigration status by applying for citizenship, a green card, or asylum; petitioning family members; fighting a deportation order, and more. Winning these cases is transformational, but after filing fees and high-quality legal representation, the cost can be insurmountable. We are grateful for AILA’s partnership as we expand our immigration loans to new markets by working with AILA member attorneys and their clients.”
Capital Good Fund’s first loan in April of 2009 was for $875 to cover citizenship costs for a low-income Providence resident. Since then, they have financed 446 immigration loans worth more than $2 million for a variety of immigration cases and expenses.
AILA President Allen Orr, Jr., noted, “Having an AILA member attorney as your advocate during immigration proceedings can make all the difference. We know that access to financial resources can be extremely difficult for many individuals who need the assistance of qualified counsel. Capital Good Fund has been working with AILA chapters since 2016 when the organization expanded its services to Florida, and we are excited to partner with them as they continue to increase their reach and allow more people to access legal representation.”
Immigration attorney Kelly Ryan is an AILA member and founder of Aurora, CO-based Ryan Immigration Group, who was interested in making affordable loans more available to clients looking for support with immigration expenses. “We see clients that can’t access mainstream loan products due to their financial status or other related barriers,” said Kelly. “Capital Good Fund offers the most comprehensive support and provides a boost to the financial wellbeing of hard-working people across Colorado.”
Capital Good Fund granted Ana Marcia of Providence, RI a loan so she could pay the $5,000 cost—attorney expenses and USCIS filing fees—of a work permit, which had the immediate benefit of allowing her to get a driver’s license and helped her build her credit. “No other bank gave me the same opportunity Capital Good Fund did,” she remembers. “I felt disillusioned. I didn’t see a way to get the work permit. Getting the permit made me feel that ¡sí se puede! – it can be done!” The impact of the loan went beyond her getting a work permit: in turn, she was able to not only launch her own cleaning business but to buy a home for her family of four, the last made possible by the fact that she established and then built her credit score.
About Capital Good Fund
Capital Good Fund is a Rhode Island-based nonprofit social change organization that uses financial services to tackle poverty in America. Capital Good Fund offers one-on-one Financial and Health Coaching and Loans of up to $50,000 for the lower-income residents of Rhode Island, Texas, Illinois, Florida, Delaware, Massachusetts, Colorado, New Jersey and Connecticut. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, Capital Good Fund has granted more than 2,500 COVID-19 Crisis Relief Loans of $300 – $1,500 with a five percent APR and a three-month deferment period and put 12 percent of its active borrowers on deferment plans. Since their founding in 2009, they have financed 8,780 loans totaling more than $18.3 million with a 95% repayment rate and graduated over 1,700 people from their Coaching program. More at www.GoodFund.us.
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is the national association of more than 15,000 attorneys, paralegals, law professors, and law students who practice and teach immigration law. AILA member attorneys represent U.S. families seeking permanent residence for close family members, U.S. businesses seeking talent from the global marketplace, as well as foreign students, entertainers, athletes, and asylum seekers. Founded in 1946, AILA is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that provides continuing legal education, information, professional services, and expertise through its 39 chapters and over 50 national committees.
